The Three Demons: Descent

By: Kioko the pirate

Chapter 4: Unlikely Union

The entire family couldn't have been more shocked if a bomb had gone off right in front of them. Kioko could only laugh as he looked around at their astonished faces. It seemed like somebody had pressed the "pause" button at the very moment that his news had registered in their heads. Sensing that it may take a moment for them to recover, Kioko shifted Angel over onto one arm, walked past the stunned family, and leaned against the bookshelf. He glanced at everyone's face to try and determine who was going to speak first. It was just a little trick he came up with to help his predictive abilities, but unfortunately for him, it was the one person he wasn't watching that finally got the world turning again.

"You're… getting… married?" Angel managed to say, though she found it hard to associate the words with the man.

Kioko looked at her, smiled, and said: "I am."

It wasn't long before the others awoke from their petrified state and found their voices. It became immediately apparent that they too, found it difficult to combine the idea of Kioko and marriage. At first, their mouths produced nothing but garbled nonsense, but at last the words started to flow.

"This has got to be a joke," Nani said as she looked at the pirate suspiciously.

"Why, why do you think it's a joke?" Kioko asked.

"Because you're the last person we can see settling down," Lilo finished for her sister.

"Yeah, I always pictured Lilo being the first one in this family to get married. Heck, I even pictured the triplets settling down before I even considered you getting married." Pleakley added.

"You pictured my little sister getting married first? What about me?" blurted Nani as she placed her hands on her hips.

Pleakley shrugged. "I just call it as I see it."

"Didn't you and Mom get married?" Ashley asked her father.

"Not officially," Stitch admitted, "we pretty much eloped."

"If you all won't take my word for it, I'll gladly show you proof that I'm tying the knot," Kioko offered, "if that's what it'll take to convince you."

The family looked around at each other for a moment and silently elected Lilo to be their spokeswoman. She was more than up to the task since she was, by far, the most suspicious about Kioko's little surprise. The young woman stepped up to the pirate, placed her finger on her lips, and looked him up and down. Instantly she noticed something.

"Ok, if you're getting married, where is your engagement ring?" Lilo asked as she pointed at his left hand.

"I don't have one," he said bluntly.

"Ah hah," Lilo exclaimed with a raised hand, "How can you be getting married without a ring?"

Kioko looked at her and shook his head slowly. "I'm not human, Lilo. I'm not having a human wedding. In a korigonian wedding there are no rings, instead we have necklaces."

"Ok then, where's your necklace?" Lilo asked as she noticed that his neck was bare.

"We don't get them until the ceremony," Kioko shot back.

Lilo was 0 for 2 and had only one last stop to pull. "All right, it was silly of me to assume that an alien culture would have the same traditions as ours, but there is one thing that they must share. Kioko, where is your bride?"

A confident smirk formed on Lilo's face as she stared Kioko dead in the eye. However, the pirate didn't blink and a moment later Lilo's last shot was knocked down.

"She's right here," declared a commanding female voice from just outside the front door.

With their curiosity unbounded, the family quickly turned toward the door and looked upon Kioko's new bride with awe. She was a tall, slender beauty, dressed from head to toe in black, with navy blue hair that flowed over her shoulders like a waterfall on a foggy day; her thin, elegant lips curled up in a self-aware smirk; her eyes sat like polished, black marbles over her finely crafted nose. For Lilo, Stitch, and Angel the woman seemed very familiar, but they couldn't quite place her. Then, all at once, it dawned on them.

"Hey, you're that police lady that came to help us at Pantucka's tower!" Stitch shouted as he pointed with his claw.

"Shemata, wasn't it?" Lilo guessed, half ready to blush if she got it wrong.

To Lilo's relief, Shemata gave her an affirming nod. "That's it, to be honest I'm surprised you could remember it. I don't know all of you, but let me see if I can remember those I do know," the young woman first pointed to Lilo, "Lilo," then she pointed to Stitch, "Stitch," she paused for a moment, "How am I doing so far?"

"Very well actually," said Lilo.

Shemata breathed a sigh of relief and then continued. She walked over and stood before Kioko, but her eyes were not on him, they were on the pink experiment cradled in his arms. "I'd be in big trouble if I forgot your name. As much as Kioko talks about you
I almost feel jealous. It's nice to see you again, Angel,"

"It's nice to see you too," Angel said quietly as her mind struggled to make sense of what was going on.

"Listen, I know you've missed Kioko a lot, but promise me you'll let me have him for at least a few minutes, ok?" Shemata said playfully.

Angel could only bring herself to nod in response. Deep down she wasn't even sure if the woman smiling at her was real or just a strange illusion in her mind. The idea of Kioko getting married was so absurd to her that there was no way that it could be real. A part of her expected Shemata to disappear with a blink, perhaps she was merely a manifestation of her excitement to see Kioko again. But if that were the case, why would that excitement appear in the form of a woman who they had only briefly met. None of it made sense, and so she decided that it was all just a figment of her imagination. However, that idea was shattered when Shemata leaned forward and gave Kioko a quick kiss on the lips.

In that instant, Angel felt a wave of energy rush from her core and ripple throughout her body. Such an innocent kiss left the experiment with a sour taste in her mouth and a bitter feeling in her heart. She had no idea what the feeling was, but as the bride-to-be pulled away, impulse drove her to reassert herself as the top woman in Kioko's life by pressing herself tighter against his chest. To Angel's dismay, her action failed to draw Kioko's attention and instead only served to aggravate her worries about her scar. If Kioko became too caught up in getting married and in his bride, would he still be able to help her? Would he still want to? If by some chance he had found a way to bury the horrible feelings that define the scar, would he want to risk having them uncovered by helping her? After all, the venomous fangs of the curse only sunk deeper into ones soul when it's brutal existence was acknowledged. If he acted rationally, he would have nothing else to do with her curse, but this was not a time to act rationally, to do so would be selfish and would mean abandoning her to fend for herself. She couldn't picture him ever doing something so heartless and stupid to the one person who shared his pain. It was for this reason that she remained confident that, despite his changing life, she would remain a top priority in his eyes.

Kioko finished introducing Shemata to the rest of the family before they all sat down to listen to the story of how she came to be his fiancée. The two of them had run into one anther about two months after Kioko had left Earth. He had seen her attempting to chase down a criminal, who was of a species known for their excellent running abilities, and decided to give her a hand. Unfortunately, his idea of helping was to nearly knock the man's head off with a kick to the face. Other than being shocked by the pirate's sudden appearance, Shemata was outraged by what she thought was a mockery of not only her, but her division as well. She threatened to blow off Kioko's head with her pistol along with other violent threats that one would not expect to hear from a potential couple. Kioko only took these threats as a challenge and further interfered with her work when ever possible. He never did anything too damaging, no one on the police force was harmed, but what he did do, he did with an uncharacteristic, flirtatious attitude. Kioko's playful harassment continued for almost a year and no one was in more disbelief than her when she realized that she was growing used to him. For her it was about the equivalent of someone getting used to having Charles Manson hanging around at one's work, playing tricks on people. This pirate had been the worst criminal ever in Korigonian history; he had killed countless people, including a few that she had known personally, and people saw him as no less than the devil incarnate. So it boggled her mind that she seemed to be growing friendly with him.

Fortunately for her, no one else in her department knew about her contact with him. One day Kioko appeared in her office, uninvited as usual, and from out of nowhere asked her out on a date. From past to present, no woman had ever shot down a guy so fast. She saw his request as evidence that he thought of her as having such low moral value that she would have no problems with going out with a murderous pirate. This great insult had a grand effect on her temperament towards other convicts. She had been known for being rough with criminals before, but after Kioko's request she became increasingly aggressive, which resulted in the near death of a suspect. This incident led to her dismissal from the force, and though she took responsibility for her actions, she held Kioko to blame for ending her 20,000 plus year career. If only to confuse her further, Kioko apologized for everything and even tried to console her. At first she turned a blind eye to his efforts, but he was persistent, and the more he talked the more distant the monster's voice seemed to get. Once she stopped to actually listen, she didn't even feel like she was talking with a pirate anymore. He was a different man entirely. Even though she still thought it was crazy, she finally took him up on his offer and the two went on their first date. Her trust in him grew with each meeting, as did some feelings that Angel would have found familiar, until at last Kioko popped the question. It hadn't been too extravagant, Kioko knew that she wasn't the type of woman to be impressed by lavish things, but her reaction was that of a woman who had just been given the universe.

The couple's story left nearly every one in the family riveted, as well as they knew Kioko, the whole story seemed almost fantastical. The only one in the room who was not overly interested in the story was Angel, who had finally relinquished her spot in Kioko's arms and had taken a seat next to Stitch in a chair. Even though Stitch wasn't happy to have Kioko around again, he was pleased to see that he had a female of his own. Perhaps, she would keep him from having to compete with the pirate for Angel's affection. Plus, they would be sure to run into relationship problems, and since he was the only other coupled male in the family, Kioko would have no choice but to come begging for his help. At that time Stitch could flaunt his relationship knowledge over him. The thought brought a fiendish smile to Stitch's face, but Angel couldn't have smiled if she wanted to. All she could do was sit next to her mate, arms folded over her chest, and stare contemptuously at the woman tucked under Kioko's arm.

"That was a very sweet story, you guys," Lilo said with a smile, "But Kioko, I have to say it, you are a terrible flirt."

"Yeah, I've never heard of someone's flirting getting someone else fired." added Nani.

"That is nothing," Jumba said dismissively, "Jumba's flirting once caused ex-wife to catch on fire. Was only time she was actually 'hot stuff'… the only time."

Kioko just shrugged. "What can I say, I tried. Out of all the experiences I've had in my life, Flirting is not something I've gotten much exposure to."

"So when's the big day? I'm sure there are tons of things you could use some help with. Shemata, if you still need a dress I can whip one up for you in a jiffy, need hors'devours, I'll make you something fit for a king!" Pleakley eagerly offered as he grabbed a notepad off of a nearby table and started jotting down ideas.

Kioko held his face in his hand and shook his head while Shemata stared at the cycloptic alien with a befuddled expression. "Ok, well I don't know what a hors'devours is, but our wedding is two weeks from now, and also there is no dress," said Shemata.

"No dress, don't tell me Korigonian weddings are preformed naked?" asked Nani concernedly.

Shemata laughed. "No, no, in Korigonian weddings the bride wears a ceremonial robe called a sakuwari and the groom wears a robe called a kozuwari."

"And I'm guessing your ceremony is going to be held on your planet?" the older girl continued.

"Yes it is," blurted Kioko, "but don't worry, Nani, we won't let you get eaten."

Nani stared at the pirate and his mischievous grin and shook her head. "You think that's funny don't you?"

Kioko gave a modest nod and then changed the focus from him and his bride over to the rest of the family. "Enough of our news, let's hear what you guys have been up to. How's that alchemy coming, Lilo?"

The atmosphere in the room instantly became subdued; no one knew how to tell him about Tokajo's attack, although they knew it was something he needed to know. Glances were passed between family members as they looked to, once again, elect someone to bare the unpleasant news. Unfortunately for Lilo, the fact that Kioko had addressed a question to her meant that she was the one who had to tell him.

"It's going good, I think you'd be surprised by how much I've learned since you left," Lilo said as she eased herself into the uncomfortable situation.

"With Stitch around I'm sure you've found plenty of situations to practice with," Kioko said teasingly as he glanced at the blue experiment.

"Can't you ever say anything nice?" Stitch said with his brows furrowed in annoyance.

"Actually, my alchemy was really put to the test shortly after you left,"

It wasn't hard for Kioko to notice that something was wrong as Lilo spoke to her lap rather than him. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Lilo kept her eyes focused on her knees for a moment before taking a deep breath and releasing it through her nose. The young woman finally raised her head and looked the pirate in the eyes. "A few months after you left we were attacked by a bounty hunter named Tokajo Gira along with experiment 6-2-7, who had some how become reactivated. For some reason they tried to kidnap Angel, but fortunately Stitch and the kids managed to defeat 6-2-7 and rescue her. I took on Tokajo by myself using my alchemy and managed to beat him, but not before taking a good hit of my own," Lilo reached up and pulled the collar of her shirt down to reveal the terrible scar running down from her shoulder. Kioko raised a brow in surprise while Shemata winced in empathy. "I was nearly killed, but I managed to use my own blood to form a spike that impaled him through the chest. It was a really close call though."

With Lilo's brief story complete, the family looked toward Kioko for his reaction. Finding out that Angel had been in danger while he was away would most certainly cast a dark shadow over his joyous news, but it was something he had to know. Given Kioko's tendency to be short tempered, everyone expected him to leap to his feet and send curse words firing off in all directions like some infuriated grenade. They could feel the fuse shortening as Kioko looked disbelievingly between Lilo and Angel, the explosion was coming any second. After a moment, Kioko exploded, but not with the anger they expected, instead he exploded into hysterical laughter. The family and Shemata were taken aback by the pirate's inappropriate outburst. Angel was especially bothered, of course who could blame her; the man she thought the world of had just heard that her life had been in peril and had started laughing like a maniac. Such a reaction could never be good, but soon after the reason for his laughter became apparent.

"So our innocent little Lilo killed a man, how exciting" Kioko exclaimed with great relish, "Tell me, was it a thrill for you? Did the smell of his blood make your heart race and long for more?"

Lilo couldn't answer, as her eyes locked onto his a strange and frightening feeling overcame her. She felt nauseas, panicky, and had to fight the urge to run and hide herself away. The feeling only grew stronger the longer she focused on the pirate's eyes. They glowed with a look that she had never seen before. The normally tranquil orbs filled to the brim with madness and reflected every dark deed he had ever committed. Combined with his monstrous grin, Lilo felt as though her very soul was in danger of being ripped asunder. However, before her heart could crack under the vile pressure, Kioko's gaze was broken when Shemata's hand came down between them like a barrier.

"Kioko, focus!" Shemata commanded in a voice more fitting of a commander than a fiancée.

The pirate's twisted grin disappeared and his eyelids drooped as if he were coming out of a trance. Lilo felt the weight lift from her body as it left her panting in exhaustion. The young girl had to hold onto her seat to keep from falling over. She had never felt anything so terrifying in her life and yet Kioko let out a sigh like he had just been holding his breath. Shemata gave the pirate one last look over before lowering her hand and rubbing his shoulder.

"I'm sorry about that," Kioko said with an embarrassed laugh while he wiped his brow with the back of his hand, "I got a little carried away. I wasn't expecting to find out something like that, though that is exactly the reason I gave you that alchemy book."

Kioko was the only one who found anything worth laughing about. Almost every brow in the room was furrowed in confusion, while every eye beneath those brows looked upon him with the slightest flicker of fear.

"Carried away? He's never gotten carried away like that before," Stitch mumbled to him self as he scrutinized every little detail in Kioko's smirk, "Something isn't right here, I just know it."

Angel also looked upon the pirate with scrutiny, but her perception of what had happened was far different from her mate's. The small embers of jealousy burning in her heart led her to see Shemata, not Kioko, as the suspicious one. Rationality turned to ash upon those embers and left her unable to even consider another plausible explanation.

'I've never seen Kioko act that way before,' the pink experiment thought as she looked concernedly upon the pirate and then harshly upon the blue haired woman, 'what the hell just happened? No, more importantly, how did she know what to do? She handled it as if it were something that happened all the time, but I know that isn't the case. She must be doing something to him, but what is it?'

Concerned by what had just happened to her sister, Nani sat next to her and began to briskly rub her back. "Well before you get carried away again you should know one major detail," Nani spoke, her voice shook, "Lilo didn't kill that man."

A puzzled expression came over Kioko's face. "But I thought she said she impaled him through the chest?"

Nani gave a nod. "She did, but apparently that wasn't enough to stop him. When we went out to remove his body from the driveway it was gone."

"That doesn't necessarily mean he was still alive and just walked away," Kioko commented.

"He's right, I've read Tokajo Gira's profile several times before and there was never any indication that he was strong enough to do something like that," Shemata agreed as she held her chin in thought, "Could it be possible that someone took his body?"

"Who would just walk up and take a body impaled on a huge spike?" Pleakley asked in doubt.

"I don't think anyone did take his body," Ashley spoke up, "When we looked around later that night we didn't see any blood trail, in fact, the only blood around was on the spike. If he was taken or even if he walked away, you'd expect a wound like that to be bleeding badly."

"Well if no one took him and he didn't walk away, what happened to him?" Nani said with frustration brewing in her voice.

Unfortunately for her, no one could give an answer and so she only received befuddled looks in return.

"This is nothing to worry about," said Kioko with an amused chuckle, "If he is dead, there is no need to concern ourselves with the matter. If, on the other hand, he is still alive, then Lilo will just have to get stronger."

The young girl, who had just managed to catch her breath, felt Kioko's eyes on her once again, but this time she did not make eye contact. She leaned her head back and cleverly held her eyes half open, this blocked the top of Kioko's face from view and yet made it seem like she was only doing it from exhaustion.

"Why would I have to get stronger," Lilo asked snappishly, 'what about other members of this family?"

"If Tokajo really is alive somewhere, once he gets his strength back he's is going to come for you specifically. He won't care about anyone else, it was you that defeated him, and so it's you that he'll want to beat first." Kioko explained.

"What kind of childish thinking is that?"

Kioko laughed harder. "Welcome to the rules of the universe, my dear girl. This is just the sort of thing that dominated my life for more than 30,000 years. When you defeat a strong opponent in a fight and they do not die, you become an obsession to them. In defeating them you take away their pride and the only course of action they see to win back that pride is to annihilate you the next time they see you. If he is still alive, I can assure you that Tokajo will return stronger than he was before, so I would suggest that you make yourself stronger as well. He knows your powers now; he won't fall for the same trick twice, so he'll aim to make his first cut fatal."

Lilo sneered slightly; she didn't appreciate his bluntness on the subject of her dying in a fight. "Well, while I didn't put much thought into Tokajo coming back, I did think ahead in case I had to defend my Ohana again. I've started planning a little something with Jumba that will allow me to make transmutations in battle more efficient and more practical."

"That's a good start," Kioko said with a pleased nod, "But remember, getting a new weapon or technique is only part of being prepared. You've still got to learn how to use it effectively."

A strange tension followed Kioko's words. It flowed under the surface of their hearts, like a ripe tide under a calm ocean. The tension was so strong that it bent their perceptions of the feelings they felt upon hearing of his return. It was as though they doubted whether or not their excitement was founded. They had been fine with him getting married, but the change of behavior that seemed to come with it was unsettling. The only solid belief they had was that something about him had changed. At that instant the antique clock on the wall chimed, but Shemata seemed to be the only one who noticed. Her apparent immunity to Kioko's gaze and her lack of connection to the family left her out of the tide.

"If I'm reading that clock right, it's already close to six," she said as she placed her hand on Kioko's shoulder, "If you want to get around to inviting everyone I'd suggest we get moving."

"It's amazing how time flies when you're catching up with friends," Kioko said as the uncharacteristically happy tone returned to his voice, "But I suppose we must go. So here's the plan, in two days we will return to pick you up, kind of short notice, but I'm sure you guys can handle it. Expect to be gone for at least two to three weeks, due to Korigon's slower rotational speed, one week there will be a little over two here."

"Won't that cause us some problems? Like a serious case of jetlag?" Nani asked curiously.

Shemata shook her head. "Most alien species don't have any problem adapting to Korigon's time table."

"Alien species?" Nani blurted. She sounded offended.

"Yes Nani, believe it or not, on our planet it is you who are the aliens. In fact you should feel proud about that. You'll be one of the first humans ever to set foot there. When we were chasing down Pantucka, Lilo earned the title as first ever human to go to Korigon, but you can be the second." Kioko said as he and Shemata rose to their feet.

Out of courtesy, everyone else got to their feet and followed the couple as they headed for the door. A quick round of hugs followed before the door was opened and Kioko and Shemata started to make their way out.

"It was really nice meeting all of you," Shemata smiled, "you have a very lovely planet."

"It was very nice to meet you too." Nani responded with a polite smile.

"I can't wait to see what your wedding will be like," Pleakley said excitedly, "Remember, if you need anything, give me a call."

The noodly alien pulled a business card out from behind his back and placed it in the former officer's hands. She thanked him for the offer and as soon as Pleakley turned his back, she crumpled the card and tossed it over her shoulder.

"I'm sorry we can't stay longer, but we'll have more time to catch up in a few days," Kioko said with his friendly smile still stuck on his face, "Maybe then I can get a demonstration of your new, alchemic powers."

"We'll see," Lilo said bluntly as she folded her arms over her chest.

"Come on, come on, we've got to get moving," Shemata said with rapidly falling patience.

Kioko sighed as the ex-police woman gave one last goodbye to the family then turned and walked away. "You can see why she was so loved on the force," said Kioko sarcastically, "We'll see you all in a couple of days then, have a goodnight."

The family waved goodbye as the pirate turned and walked down the front steps. Angel however, wasn't ready to say goodbye for even just a few days. Despite having been wrapped in Kioko's arms for a good hour, she didn't feel ready to let him leave yet. Not to mention her worries about her scar felt untouched, as if Kioko hadn't paid them any mind. Fearing that his mind was, indeed, too tied down by his new bride, she ran forward to try and catch him and remind him that she needed help. The pink experiment slipped past Lilo and Nani's legs and bounded down the stairs. She caught the pirate as he was about to step onto the last section of stairs.

"Kioko," she shouted, though not loud enough for her family to hear, "please, before you go I really need to talk to you. Weird things have been happening lately with my scar and they're starting to scare me. I need you to be honest with me, what will happen if I lose control?"

Kioko stopped mid-step, but did not turn to look at her. He was silent for a moment, save for a light sigh through his nose, his head fell slightly. "Are you still alive," the pirate finally asked in a stern voice that was more fitting of his typical personality.

"W-what," Angel stammered in surprise.

"Have you killed anyone,"

"N-no, w-what are you…?"

"Then there's no need for you to worry right now," Kioko said in what was probably the most upbeat tone he'd used all night. The pirate turned around with a big smile, knelt down to Angel's level, and placed his hands on her shoulders, "You shouldn't concern yourself with what might happen, because just so long as you keep up your meditation and the other mental exercises I taught you, it doesn't need to happen."

"That's just it though, I've been doing all those things and it just seems to keep getting worse. I-I'm afraid that I'm starting to lose it."

"You're not losing it, Angel. Believe me, if you were losing it, things would be a lot worse,"

"How, how would they be worse? Please, tell me!" Angel begged as she held onto Kioko's arms.

Kioko leaned forward, placed his forehead against Angel's, and looked her right in the eyes. "Listen, this is neither the time nor the place to talk about this," Kioko's voice suddenly took on a very gentle rhythm, "but I promise you, the first good chance we get, me and you can talk all you want, ok?"

"Come on, you rotten pirate, get your ass in gear!" Shemata yelled from the driveway.

Kioko pulled his head back and looked toward the woman. "Watch the sweet talk, honey, you might give someone diabetes," Kioko yelled in sarcasm before turning back to Angel, "Nothing bad is going to happen to you or your family. It may feel worse, but it's nowhere near a level that you need to worry about, I can tell just by looking at you. So try and relax, everything will be fine."

The pirate kissed Angel on the forehead and then got to his feet. He gave her one last smile of confidence and then turned and walked away. Angel stood there and watched him leave, the whole time she felt cheated of her answers once again, but at the same time she felt a little relieved. Even after two years, his words still had the power to calm her nerves. However, she couldn't help but feel worried by his first questions.

After a long time the chapter is finally completed. Vacations and a new girlfriend got in the way of this one. I know I say it every time, but I'll try to have the next one up sooner. Please review.